When the whole country celebrated ‘Super Saturday’ with opening of non-essential, shops, restaurants, pubs, hotels and hairdressers, as the restrictions were lifted since 23 March, Leicester has spent its first weekend in local lockdown, after it saw a rise of 944 new cases in the last two weeks. Non-essential shops in Leicester have shut and schools have closed to most pupils as part of restrictions imposed after a rise in the Covid-19 cases. Officials asked for more time to get the disease under control after Public Health England identified 3,216 cases since the start of the epidemic. There have been outbreaks in food production sites, clothing factories and in large households.
Public Health England (PHE) found "no explanatory outbreaks in care homes, hospital settings, or industrial processes.”
In fact, its analysis of cases showed more "young and middle-aged people" in the city had tested positive for Covid-19 than in other parts of the Midlands.
Health Secretary announced lockdown
Health Secretary Matt Hancock made the announcement in the House of Commons on June 29, after a spike in the coronavirus cases in Leicester. He advised Leicester people to stay at home as much as they can, while the local lockdown measures continue. A review is due by July 18. As we went to press, he further added, “We propose to make announcements on the next steps on the 18th of July.
“If further measures are needed in the meantime to tighten up, we would take them immediately.”
According to the 2011 Census, 37.13% of Leicester’s population is British Asian, with 28.03% Indians, 2.45% Pakistanis and 1.10% Bangladeshis. 6.24% of Leicester’s population is Black.
Alok Sharma reportedly explained the Government has provided support to 5,900 small businesses in Leicester as the city is forced to stay in lockdown. The Business Secretary explained he felt the city's disappointment to continue social distancing as measures are eased for the rest of England on July 4. But he didn't reveal when the city is likely to reopen as he said the lockdown will be reviewed in two weeks.
City Councillor Ratilal Govind reportedly said he thought a lack of communication with people who do not speak English as their first language could be one factor behind the increasing number of cases.
However as Asian Voice spoke to locals, they insisted that poverty and diabetes could be some serious factors behind this outbreak, more than language barriers.
Keith Vaz says not language, but diabetes may be a key cause
Keith Vaz who represented Leicester East for 32 years in Parliament as Britain's longest serving Indian-origin MP told Asian Voice that he is hugely disappointed by the Government’s decision to extend the lockdown timetable for Leicester.
“Leicester has the largest percentage of Indian origin people of any city in the whole of Europe. Everyone in Leicester was expecting the lockdown to be eased on Saturday 4th July, this decision has come as a complete shock to local people. The Government needs to understand that it is just not enough to extend the lockdown for 2 weeks we need to know what will happen afterwards.”
However, he does not believe that language is a problem, but thinks messages are not enough localised for the purpose. “Although the national messages have been spot-on, there are always local variations and unfortunately this may have not happened to the extent that was required,” Mr Vaz explained. “It is clear when information provided so far is not provided in a way that some members of the community understands.”
He went on to say: "Lockdown is not sufficient if we want to eradicate coronavirus from Leicester and other cities it must be accompanied by testing as well as care. At the moment it is very difficult to get GP appointments as a result local people have not been able to be tested by their own doctors in addition there is a problem with information concerning hospital admissions.
He has suggested that three things need to happen: "First testing must be widely available, that means that G's need to start testing their own patients themselves in addition to sharing this workload. Pharmacies need to be given the resources and the Personal Protection Equipment that is required for them to test people for Covid-19.
Secondly, because of its large South Asian origin population, Leicester has one of the largest numbers of diabetes sufferers in the UK, Mr Vaz himself is a Type 2 Diabetic. His Charity Silver Star Diabetes has campaigned for wide testing of individuals to see if they have diabetes.
He said, "What we also need to do is to ramp up the testing for diabetes, it is now established that one of the underlying health conditions that causes coronavirus complications is those who have diabetes and it is essential that they are tested for diabetes and are able to manage their condition. This particular aspect has not been canvassed by the Government. Thirdly, local businesses are suffering enormously because of the 3-month lockdown, for this extra week they need to be given additional Government financial support to enable them to prepare for the future.
Unfortunately choosing only Leicester where there are other cities that have got high cases sends out a message that we are not open for business.”
Diabetes affects around 3 million people in the UK, half a million of these are from Black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities. Diabetes currently costs the NHS around 10% of its annual budget.
BAME population has been at higher risk of coronavirus due to the presence of comorbidities like diabetes. The risk of death from Covid-19 is three and a half times higher for patients with type 1 diabetes and two times higher for those with type 2 diabetes, compared with people without the condition, an NHS research recently said.
Locals oppose the idea of language barrier
Dr Gautam Bodiwala, a Leicester resident, who is not a practicing doctor, commenting on the misinterpreted online stories on language barrier acting as a factor for the spike in coronavirus cases in Leicester said, “I don’t think it’s true. It is not the question of language by which communication does not take place. The UK Government has produced leaflets in various languages. This second spike which has occurred as I understand, is in the younger generation, which is quite familiar with English language. I don’t think language is a question at all.”
Meera Majithia, Founder of Carriages Weddings and Events, a successful Indian wedding planner from Leicester said, “Communities are raising so much awareness, whether it is temples or community centres.
“I think it’s purely because people are just taking decisions in their hands and defying rules. There are UK Government guidelines, though a majority of people are following them, a small minority are perhaps just disregarding the rules and going about their day as normal. In Leicester, mainly young people had high infection rates, and their English is perfectly good, so language barrier is not an excuse.”
Disappointed restaurant waiting to re-open with zero-touch menu
Jagdish Ghelani, the owner of Indigo restaurant in Leicester reiterated the same point to Asian Voice. He said, “Virtually all families in the UK would have a member in the household who understands English and so don't think this is a barrier.”
But he added, “Considering the recent spike and subsequent restrictions in Leicester, there may be a second and third wave and it is very likely that normalisation will not occur until the end of the year at the earliest.
“We consulted with our team and staff on whether to keep the takeaway open, how to proceed with stock and perishables and where possible, we donated food to charity and within the community. We incurred a huge amount of paperwork, letters to inform suppliers, staff and prepare to put the team on Furlough. We consulted the experts including our HR and Accountants in understanding nuances of government documentation, all the while worrying about the well-being and safety of our family and staff.”
With the UK Government’s guidelines to maintain social distancing while the virus continues to spread across the globe, Ghelani has his plans sorted for reopening, “While being open for takeaway we have heavily invested in screens, PPE and staff training. As we consider reopening the dine-in, the team has been drawing up designs of the new norm which include zero-touch menus, regular safety drills, limited group sizes, social distancing layout and flow, and alfresco meals.”